Normal
by flick knife
Summary: Matt makes a suggestion, coupled with being normal for just 8 hours.


January 25th found Mello sat on the edge of the bed he shared with his lover. Brooding eyes stared at the wall before him, and he absentmindedly toyed with the last piece of chocolate with gloved fingers. He snapped it in two, and the loud crack it emitted seemed to pull him from his trance like state.

"Open," he commanded softly, twisting his torso to face the redhead and pressing the piece of chocolate to his lips.

Matt parted his lips to let Mello slip the sweet substance into his mouth, not taking his eyes off the screen of his laptop as he continued to clack away at the keys.

Mello lapped at his piece gently, fixated on the boy before him, and watching the almost elegant way Matt's fingers managed to dart around the keyboard, and the small frown of concentration that adorned his face as he worked.

"I'm done," he sighed eventually, pushing the laptop off his lap and bringing his legs to his chest. One hand moved his goggles up, so he could rub his eyes, whilst the other fished out a cigarette from his pocket.

"So we're all set for tomorrow?" Mello asked, shifting fully to sit on the bed next to his significant other and pulling out a lighter, holding the flame close to the gamer, but not too close. Heaven knows he knew the dangers of fire.

Matt nodded, leaning into the flame to light the cigarette between his lips, and inhaling the smoke appreciatively, blowing it upwards before moving the ashtray closer and leaning slightly against the blonde.

"Tomorrow's going to be interesting," Matt commented after a few minutes of silence.

Mello merely nodded, toying with the foil of his late chocolate bar and resuming his staring contest with the wall. The air held a certain tension, but not between the couple. It was a sense of foreboding, and words hung over them that they both knew, yet neither would utter. Comments on how this may be the last time they'd do this were left unsaid, and long goodbyes contemplated, but never put into practise. It was as if, if they didn't speak of it, it wouldn't happen.

"We should get married," Matt announced, after the silence had stretched on far longer than the life of his cigarette.

Mello let out a short, amused laugh, glancing down at his boyfriend with an eyebrow raised.

"Why the hell should we do that?"

Matt's face stayed straight, serious in fact, as he shrugged, "dunno, seems like a good idea. I love you and I know you love me. It's what most people do, isn't it?"

Mello fiddled even more with the wrapper in his hands.

"Most _normal_ people," Mello told him. "We're not normal."

"I suppose." The slightly younger boy sighed and tilted his head to rest against the blonde's scarred shoulder. "It would be nice to feel normal for once though. Even just for a day."

Mello bit back his immediate answer, to tell the boy that a day might be all they had left. Matt already knew that, he didn't need reminding. Instead, Mello fiddled with the wrapper.

"Normal's boring. It's a stupid idea," he muttered darkly, brow furrowing as he scowled slightly.

"It was just a thought," Matt replied in much the same way, before sighing, and shrugging once more.

Mello shifted slightly, expression staying the same but mind going into overdrive. Barely a minute later, he tugged at his rosary and sighed.

"Just for a day?" he asked. "We could be normal?"

Matt nodded against the blonde's shoulder, "not even the full twenty-four hours, twelve if you want, even eight."

"Eight sounds good," Mello commented softly, eyes fixed on the foil between his fingers. "Would we have to do anything?"

"Just exist," Matt smiled slightly as he sensed his boyfriend warming to the idea. "We don't have to do anything. Just stay in bed if you like."

"I suppose it sounds good," Mello admitted after a moment. "I could live with sacrificing eight hours to being normal." A smile made its way to his face as he glanced down at the redhead fondly.

Matt nodded slowly, turning his head to press a kiss against the blonde's shoulder as his hands finally stilled from the foil.

"Here," Mello announced, holding up a smooth twist of aluminium. Matt looked at it, confused, as Mello picked up one of his hands and pulled the gamer's glove off. He slid the small and perfectly folded ring onto Matt's left hand, second finger in.

Dawning came in the form of a developing grin across Matt's face as he stared at the new addition to his hand.

"Well thank you for that, Mihael Jeevas," Matt said, the grin lightening his face as he stretched up to capture the blonde's lips.

"I think Mail Keehl sounds better," Mello informed him when they separated. "It's just got that ring to it."

---

January 26th found Mello seated on a motorbike, trying to convey what he hoped to be a reassuring look to his new husband. It had been a late night, part of which was taken up by Matt's hacking skills, breaking into the registry database and making their relationship paperwork official, and Matt returned Mello's look with a tired, almost forlorn stare.

"I'll see you later," Mello told the redhead, twisting the helmet in his hands and brushing his hair back, ready to don it. "Don't get into too much trouble."

Matt smiled, and nodded. The foil ring around his finger was warm with his body heat, insulated in the gloves he wore, and tacky against his skin with perspiration. He couldn't help but run his thumb over the slight bump it made in the gloves, rubbing it almost compulsively as he stepped forward to embrace Mello as best he could one last time before they went their separate ways.

"You be good," he told the blonde, hands either side of his face to make sure he'd face him. He didn't want to forget one inch of his face, not that he ever could. "And don't make a mess of things."

"I'll do my best not to," Mello grinned, standing up from straddling the bike briefly to kiss Matt. It was as all kisses were between them; short, but meaningful.

Matt stepped back, away from motorcycle that Mello now started the ignition of.

"I love you," Matt told him, leaning against his red car and watching as the blonde boy lifted the helmet.

"Love you mo-" the last of the word was muffled as Mello brought the helmet over his head.

He checked his jacket, pulling the zip right up before positioning himself on the bike. It roared to life, a sound Matt felt Mello used more for effect than necessity, and the blonde ex-mafia boss glanced back at the gamer one last time, winking and placing that oh-so familiar grin on his face, before kicking off and screeching down the street in a mass of fumes and road dust.

The round black head didn't turn back after that, and Matt spared no lingering glances up the road as he got into the car. It was business time now, and they had work to do.


End file.
